Squak Mountain May Valley Loop Trail

Squak Mountain May Valley Loop Trail is a 6 mile lightly trafficked loop trail located near Issaquah, WA that features a waterfall and is rated as moderate. The trail offers a number of activity options and is accessible year-round. Dogs are also able to use this trail but must be kept on leash.

6.0 miles1891 feetLoop

dogs on leash

kid friendly

hiking

nature trips

trail running

walking

horseback riding

forest

river

views

waterfall

wildlife

Squak Mountain State Park has a network of 13 miles of hiking trails and 6 miles of horse trails. There are multiple trailheads. The trail is accessible year-round for day-use. Dogs on leash are also able to use this trail.
Squak Mountain State Park has a network of 13 miles of hiking trails and 6 miles of horse trails. There are multiple trailheads. It is a good idea to have a good map and a compass or GPS navigation device to navigate this park.
Maps are available at:
http://your.kingcounty.gov/ftp/gis/web/vmc/recreation/bct_cougarsquaktiger_brochure.pdf
http://www.switchbacks.com/maps/PDFs/Squak_Mountain.pdf
http://www.parks.wa.gov/DocumentCenter/Home/View/1949

The different parts of the trails vary in quality significantly. The first third from the trail head is the most groomed and the most beautiful with lots of cedar in all of its natural glory. In other parts the trails narrow to less than a foot wide with overgrowth on either side; including lots of stinging nettles! In these places the trails are ungroomed, uneven with lots of small rocks. It is also very steep in places; mostly on these lesser groomed trails. Wearing hiking boots would be much more comfortable than walking shoes through these area.
The trail signs are confusing in places, not pointing in the direction they are referring to. I can't confirm this, but it seems like the distances on the signs are inaccurate as well.
The summit is not exactly a prize; a series of transmission antennas and equipment surrounded by a chain link fence. There is a narrow view of Seattle through the trees from this vantage point. The beauty of this trail is in the journey itself; especially the first third.
If you go beyond that, consider wearing pants or long socks to avoid the stinging nettles.

Very quiet trail, which was nice but kind of underwhelming partial view at the top. We stayed on the Peak trail which just led to cell towers at the top and a very small glimpse of the city in the distance.

Hiked two months ago and didn't take the loop trail but the trail to the central Peak. The trail is not challenging and the summit is not an open place, not too much fun. But I was surprised to see a lady riding a horse on the trail.

Not an overly difficult hike. Doesn't have the view that other trails have but it's a lot of fun because there are lots of off shoots which can give you the chance to adventure around. Doesn't seem overly popular as well.

It was a beautiful hike. Lots of different site and turns you could go to see different views. We went to Debbie's View I believe it was called. The hike got pretty intense the last 1/3 of the way, but well worth it.